Fever
Prolouge The moon was a claw scratch in a sea of cobalt, shedding its silver blood on the moors below. In a dip in one hill, cats huddled together for support, awaiting news that could make or break their lives. Every cat seemed to be holding their breath. A slender tabby-and-white cat slid from a den, shoulders hunched. The Clan cats heads lifted, hope sparking in their silver-glinted eyes. The medicine cat sighed and sat heavily, looking at her Clan. "Aquastar has the Fever." The whole camp was silent as the news sunk in. Even the tiny gray kit huddled between a tabby's paws had ceased its wailing. Their leader had the Haze Fever. Mudsplash's eyes flashed as she saw the last sliver of hope leave her Clanmates' eyes. "We can't give up!" She called, bouncing to her paws. "StarClan is watching us. They won't let WindClan perish!" But her Clanmates' filed back into their dens looking unconvinced. Mudsplash was left alone in the clearing, her eyes turned to the stars. Chapter One Lilypaw willed her paws to move faster, swifter over the springy grass. The rabbit stayed one pawstep ahead of her, teasing her along. Summoning what little energy remained in her, she leaped, and her claws sank into rough fur and soft flesh. Her prey gave one aganized shriek before it went limp in her paws. Relieved, Lilypaw grabbed her freshly caught kill and trotted back to where Peachwhisker was waiting with her own rabbit. "We'll have to go back soon," The tortoiseshell warrior murmured, yawning. "The sick cats will be hungry." Lilypaw only nodded and sat, resting a moment. "Tonight's the Gathering." Lilypaw blinked. "But we're not going." Peachwhisker hesitated. "We can't go! Aquastar would never make it to the island!" Peachwhisker huffed. "I know that, mouse brain. But we still need to go. I want to ask ThunderClan for that strip of forest near the stream." Lilypaw's jaw dropped. "What? We don't need it." "Yes, we do. Forest prey is easier to catch than rabbits. It'll give our frayed muscles a rest, and we'll catch three times more. Wouldn't you give the sick cats a full belly if you could?" Lilypaw sighed. "Once the Clan is healthy again we'll give the land back. But its hardly anything, and we need the prey." "Okay," Lilypaw muttered, picking up her rabbit. "But your asking Birchstar for her territory." * * * Lilypaw and Peachwhisker neared the camp breathless and exhausted. Since there were more cats with the Fever than without - only Lilypaw, Peachwhisker, and six other cats weren't touched by the sickness - the uninfected cats had left the camp, made themselves a makeshift denning place just outside the hollow. It was best, to keep them healthy. Lilypaw took Peachwhisker's rabbit along with her own and carried it to the sick cats' camp. She dropped the fresh-kill by the enterance and yowled, then retreated a few steps back. An orange head popped out of the enterance and snatched the rabbits, disappearing and returning a moment later without the fresh-kill. "Thank you, Lilypaw," The orange she-cat called, not coming out any further. "Your welcome, Rosewind. Any news?" "Not much. No deaths yet, anyways. Graykit's starting hallucianting." Lilypaw sighed. That had to be terrible. Lilypaw nodded and swept off to get some much-needed rest before the Gathering. Chapter Two Lilypaw shivered and fluffed out her fur. Her, Peachwhisker, Flintclaw, Hawkpelt, Shadepaw, and Mintpaw had decided to go the Gathering. Ripplepaw had stayed behind with Daisywhisker and Bluekit. Shadepaw leaped up on the log ahead of her. The ancient wood creaked ominously under her weight, though every cat knew it would never break, especially not under someone as light as Shadepaw. The smudgy gray apprentice scooted swiftly across the tree and jumped down to the shingle on the other side next to her sister. Lilypaw reached up with her forepaws and gripped the wood, pulling herself up with a huff. She dug in with her claws and took small steps, willing herself not to fall. Black water gurgled and splashed against either side of the trunk, ready to suck Lilypaw under if she slipped. She swallowed and jumped, her paws hitting wet pebbles. Peachwhisker crossed, and the six cats pressed their way to the clearing where the Clans gathered. "Peachwhisker?" A gray-and-white cat was staring at the small group as they settled into the crowd from the Great Oak. "Where is Aquastar?" Peachwhisker ignored the comment until she'd leaped into a low branch and settled herself. "Aquastar is sick, Breezestar. As is everyone. Except for us." The gathered cats glanced at eachother in surprise. "What?" A small gray she-cat queried from a branch above Peachwhisker. "What do you mean?" Peachwhisker explained to the gathered cats about the Haze Fever. She told that it had never been seen before, that there was no cure as far as Mudsplash knew. That cats infected with it burned with uncontrollable fever all day every day, and as the fever raged on, they suffered from halluciantions. She told that every cat who got it was guaranteed to die from it sooner or later. She told the Clans that the cats below were the only ones uninfected. The cats were silent. "What did you come here for, then?" A black and white tom spat. "You should be taking care of your sick and dying, not gossiping here." "I came here because I needed to, Froststar," Peachwhisker meowed coldly. "I come with a favor to ask of Birchstar." The brown tabby gazed at her curiously. "Birchstar, I ask that WindClan may have the small area of land on your side of the stream. Our cats are also dying of hunger, and us cats not sick are exhausted trying to hunt for them. We only ask that we have it until our Clan is healthy again." There was an unspoken if in that sentence. "Absolutely not," Birchstar growled. "My Clan gets nearly half of its prey intake from that strip of land. We'd be taking a loss if we gave it up." "My Clan is dying of hunger!" Flintclaw roared from the crowd. Lilypaw, Mintpaw, Shadepaw, and Hawkpelt yowled agreement. "Then go back to your precious hills and hunt!" Birchstar hissed back. Flintclaw opened his jaws to argue, but Peachwhisker held up her tail. "Let's go, WindClan," Peachwhisker growled, leaping from the tree. "We're leaving." The small group gathered, ready to head back to the shore. Peachwhisker turned back to Birchstar. "This isn't over." WindClan turned and plunged into the bracken, leaving the jabbing yowls behind. Chapter Three Lilypaw glanced at Peachwhisker uneasily. The usually calm tortoiseshell warrior was twitchy with anger, her tail lashing, teeth bared in a snarl, and hackles raised. As the patrol had headed back to WindClan territory, Peachwhisker had suddenly reared on her hind legs and slashed her claws at a stunted tree. Splinters of bark had showered down on the WindClan cats, but Peachwhisker had just dropped back to all fours and continued on. The moon was dipping low in the sky when Lilypaw and the others finally made it to their substitute camp. Shadepaw and Hawkpelt had managed to take down a rabbit and a sparrow. When they had first made the makeshift camp, Flintclaw had made a fresh-kill pile out of a bush with a large indent in the middle. Not that it would ever need to hold much. Shadepaw dropped her pitiful bird on the bush and scampered off to the cramped bush that Lilypaw and the other apprentices shared. She jumped when Hawkpelt dropped his rabbit at her paws. "Go take that to the sick cats. I need to calm Peachwhisker down." Lilypaw nodded and the dark warrior raced after Peachwhisker's retreating figure. She scooped up the fresh-kill and trotted to the original camp. Lilypaw dropped the rabbit at the enterance and yowled, retreating back her usual four pawsteps. Mudsplash came to retrieve the prey this time. She looked tired and haggard, and when Lilypaw asked if their was any news, she just sat down heavily. "Gorsewind died. Graykit is mortified." Lilypaw sighed. She liked Gorsewind, who had been as gentle as her sister Rosewind and three times as playful. "And whats killing me is that there might just be a cure to this fever!" Lilypaw stared at the medicine cat in shock. A cure? There was no cure. "My mentor told me a story his mentor had told him. That this disease had been seen before, but at that time, there had been a cure! A yellow flower, with a white center and dark green stem. One of the plants' leaves could all but bring a cat back from the dead that had died of the Fever. But for some reason the plant died off and was never grew again.The disease was never seen again either. But a loner passed through when my mentor was an apprentice, spoke of a valley far away that thrived with those flowers. Beyond the Twolegplace, through the woods, and past the hills is where he said that valley lay." Lilypaw shot to her paws. A cure! Why hadn't Mudsplash mentioned it earlier? "We need to find it!" She screeched, claws working in the grass. "Of course not! What if the flowers died in that valley too? Or it doesn't cure the fever? Or it wasn't the same plant after all? We'd waste a warrior trying to find it, and it might not work!" Mudsplash's eyes flared, and she closed them, turning back to camp. "Go home, Lilypaw. There's no hope left for us." Lilypaw went back to her nest, her mind far, far away. Chapter Four "Good catch!" Lilypaw called to Mintpaw as the slender gray tabby brought down a crow just before it took off. Ripplepaw had taken down a rabbit earlier, but now his breathing was labored. He'd catch nothing more today. "This is useless," Shadepaw spat, tail lashing. "So what if Flintclaw told us to stay away from ThunderClan territory? We need the prey! Let's get our tails into the forest and hunt!" Mintpaw sighed and prodded her crow. "I have to agree," She murmured quietly. "Usually Shadepaw's ideas are mouse-brained and dangerous, but its so early I doubt anyone would be hunting over there. And we do need prey." All four apprentices exchanged a look, snatched up whatever they'd already caught, and darted off towards the ThunderClan border. * * * The four arived back in camp weighed down with all the prey they'd caught. It took them three trips to haul it all back to the fresh-kill pile; the bush creaked and moaned under the weight of all the prey. Lilypaw was dragging the last plump squirrel back into the camp when Hawkpelt trotted in, eyes haunted. "Whats wrong?" Mintpaw asked, dropping her thrush. Hawkpelt shook his head and sighed heavily. "Mudsplash is dead." * * * "We're all going to die if I don't find that herb!" Lilypaw was fuming. The second she'd heard the medicine cat had died, she'd gone straight to Aquastar and asked to go and find the herb Mudsplash had told her about. "We need you here so you can hunt!" Aquastar had gone completely against it, saying it was too dangerous and risky. "What if that herb is still there and could cure us? All of you will die if I don't find it!" "And what if it isn't there?" Aquastar roared back. "You could get yourself killed trying to find it, and then we'd be down one healthy cat!" Lilypaw opened her jaws to fire another arguement but Aquastar cut her off. "Get back to work, Lilypaw. It's over." Lilypaw, pelt burning with anger, darted out of the den, throwing herself into the sickness free camp. She crawled through the scratchy branches to get to her nest and curled up, infuriated wails coming from her throat. Chapter Five "Lilypaw?" The gray apprentice groaned and opened her eyes. Flintclaw was looming over her. "Oh, good, you're up. Come on, we're going to patrol the borders. You may have brought back enough fresh-kill to last us a few days, but we've hardly patrolled the borders since the sickness struck." He ducked off, and Lilypaw scrabbled to her paws and out into the milky dawn light. Daisywhisker was watching Bluekit as she frisked about with a leaf. Mintpaw was sitting by the fresh-kill pile, purring and tossing the leaf back to the kit when it drifted away. Peachwhisker and Hawkpelt were sharing a squirrel near their den, and Shadepaw and Ripplepaw were locked in a mock battle. The camp almost looked peaceful. A mouse thudded at her paws; she looked up into Ripplepaw's green eyes. "Want to share?" He asked, settling down on the opposite side of the fresh-kill. Lilypaw shrugged and crouched down too, taking a bite. She wrinkled her nose. Musty and forest-y, but still swallowable. She pondered as she chewed. Aquastar may be right, that the herb was either useless to them or nonexistent, but Lilypaw still felt like she needed to know. The Clan wouldn't suffer with her gone; she didn't catch much as it was, and if she did bring down a rabbit, it was small, shriveled and old. But just how dangerous was the journey to that valley? A Twolegplace, a forest, and a moor. Didn't sound too bad. But how far was the valley from here? She sighed and hauled herself to her paws as Flintclaw called the border patrol together. Her, Flintclaw, Hawkpelt, and Shadepaw headed out of camp and weaved through the hills, resetting markers. But what would Lilypaw do if she left and the herb wasn't there? She couldn't come back to the Clan with nothing. They'd never forgive her for leaving for nothing. She sighed inwardly and tried to concentrate on the patrol. "Hey!" Lilypaw turned and groaned. A ThunderClan patrol was standing on their side of the border, sunlight slanting from the trees dappling their pelts. Flintclaw exchanged a look with Hawkpelt and led the way towards the ThunderClan cats. "Can we help you?" Hawkpelt asked cautiously. The leader of the other patrol, a gray tom called Dustclaw, snarled. "Yeah, you can. By keeping your apprentices away from our prey!" Hawkpelt's tail twitched; Shadepaw and Lilypaw glanced at eachother with guilty looks. "We apologize," Flintclaw called. "It won't happen again." Dustclaw curled his lip. "You got that right, rabbit-breath." Chapter Six Lilypaw was pacing anxious circles outside the sick cats' camp. Blackfrost had died earlier, and Rosewind had just told Lilypaw that Graykit was on her way to join StarClan. Lilypaw had made up her mind. If Graykit died, Lilypaw would leave on her quest to find the yellow flower tonight. She didn't even notice when she fell asleep, but suddenly a paw was shaking her awake. Lilypaw moaned and leapt to her paws. Peachwhisker was staring down at her, green eyes firey in the light of the setting sun. "Graykit?" Lilypaw whispered. Peachwhisker didn't twitch a whisker. "Dead," The warrior replied just as the sun disappeared under the horizon. * * * Lilypaw hated leaving without telling even Mintpaw where she was going. But it had to be done. She forced herself to stay awake, even after Flintclaw had finally settled down to sleep. At moonhigh, she slid as silently as possible from her den and looked around. No cat twitched. She took a deep breath and took the smallest vole from the fresh-kill pile. She felt guilty about eating again, but she needed as much food in her as possible. She needed to get at least out of WindClan borders by sunrise. Lilypaw finished off her meal and crawled out of the hollow, began heading away from the lake. She knew that the Twolegplace would be seen about two hills over. WindClan territory ended one hill over. It was nearly dawn when Lilypaw finally left WindClan behind her. She rolled in a patch of wild flowers to hide her scent and found a tree that would shelter her from any straying eyes. She hauled herself up the trunk and nestled into a fork in a branch for some sleep before she headed out again. Chapter Seven Lilypaw woke at sunhigh to the sounds of lazy bees buzzing and cheerful birds humming. No one had come to look for her. Refreshed and ready to continue, Lilypaw dropped to the ground. She nearly fell over a bird pecking the roots of her tree and killed it quickly, gulping down the meal happily. At least she wouldn't go hungry for a while. Lilypaw was beginning to climb the second and last hill when a flurry of barking came from behind her. She turned, startled, to see a huge black and white dog bearing down on her. She yowled in surprise and ran, wondering if she could make it to the tree she'd sheltered at before the dog maimed her. Pain sliced her leg as the dog grabbed it, plucking her off the ground and shaking her like prey. Lilypaw was hanging upsidedown, defenseless, and could only wail miserably. There was a high-pitched whistling, and the dog dropped her. Lilypaw landed on her head, agony smashing into her skull. She managed to lift her head weakly to see the dog trotting off at a Twoleg's side. Lilypaw moaned and laid her head down again. * * * Having recovered enough from the dog attack to continue, Lilypaw mounted the hill again. Her paw ached something terrible, but her head had stopped swimming, thank StarClan. If she'd been killed before she'd even begun her journey, she would never have forgiven herself. She brought down a mouse, despite the throbbing in her back paw, and gulped it down ravenously. It was dark when she finally made it to the top of the hill and looked down. Thousands of tiny lights sparkled below. It look so pretty, like tons of stars on the ground. Lilypaw sat down, ignoring the pain in her paw, the homesickness, the headache, and stared below at Twolegplace. She gave a peaceful sigh. Her journey had begun. Epilouge "What?" Aquastar demanded, certain she'd heard wrong. Peachwhisker wriggled uncomfortably in front of her. "She's gone, Aquastar. Without a trace. We woke up and Lilypaw wasn't in her nest. We tracked her out of the territory but her scent trail just...disappeared." Aquastar's heart contracted. "Go." "But I-" "Go!" Startled, Peachwhisker scuttled out of the den. Aquastar waited a moment before leaving herself, leaving the camp and climbing to the top of a hill, just to look out across the lake. She could see cats moving in the ThunderClan camp, a RiverClan patrol fishing in the stream, and ShadowClan apprentices practicing stalking. Aquastar sighed. They all had normal lives while her's was being ripped apart. She bowed her head and prayed Lilypaw would be okay. She was certain if she'd been easier on her the day before, Lilypaw wouldn't have left the way she did. For the first time in a moon, Aquastar lifted her head and asked a favor of StarClan: to bring her daughter home safely.